Abstract
This paper presents a numerical investigation of the mechanical behaviour of extended end - plate steel connections including comparison with full size experiments. Contact and friction laws have been taken into account with nonlinear, three dimensional finite element analysis. Material and geometric nonlinearities have been implemented to the model, as well. Results are then compared with experimental tests conducted at the Jordan University of Science and Technology. According to the most significant observation of the analysis, a separation of the column flange from the extended end - plate occurs. Other important structural parameters of the connection, like the impact of some column stiffeners on the overall response, local buckling of the column and friction of the beam to column interface, have been examined as well.

Abstract
This paper deals with an experimental investigation to study the effect of fibre content on the stability of composite plates with various aspect ratios. Epoxy based glass fibre reinforced composite plates with aspect ratio varying from 0.4 to 1 and with volume fractions of 0.36, 0.4, 0.46, 0.49 and 0.55 are used for the investigation. From the study it is observed that for plate with aspect ratio of 0.5 and 0.4 there is no buckling and the plate got crushed at the middle. As the volume fraction increases the buckling load also increases to a limit and then began to reduce with further increase in fibre content. The optimum range of fibre content for maximum stability is found between 0.49 and 0.55. Polynomial expressions are developed for the study of buckling behaviour of composite plates with different volume fractions in terms of load and aspect ratio.

Abstract
In this paper, the thermal buckling analysis of rectangular composite laminated plates is investigated using the Differential Quadrature (DQ) method. The composite plate is subjected to a uniform temperature distribution and arbitrary boundary conditions. The analysis takes place in two stages. First, pre-buckling forces due to a temperature rise are determined by using a membrane solution. In the second stage, the critical temperature is predicted based on the first-order shear deformation theory. To verify the accuracy of the method, several case studies were used and the numerical results were compared with those of other published literatures. Moreover, the effects of several parameters such as aspect ratio, fiber orientation, modulus ratio, and various boundary conditions on the critical temperature were examined. The results confirm the efficiency and accuracy of the DQ method in dealing with this class of engineering problems.

Abstract
This paper presents an experimental investigation on the performance of 2.5 m long reinforced concrete (RC) T-beams strengthened in shear using epoxy bonded glass fibre fabric. Eighteen (18) full scale, simply supported RC T-beams are tested. Nine beams are used as control beam specimens with three different stirrups spacing without glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) sheet and rest nine beams are strengthened in shear with one, two, and three layers of GFRP sheet in the form of U-jacket around the web of T-beams for each type of stirrup spacing. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness, the cracking pattern and modes of failure of the GFRP strengthened RC T-beams. The test result indicates that for RC T-beams strengthened in shear with U-jacketed GFRP sheets, increase the load carrying capacity by 10-46%.

Abstract
Ultra high performance cementitious composite material is applied to the design of multifunctional permanent form for bridge pier in this paper. The basic properties and calculating constitutive model of ultra high performance cementitious composite are introduced briefly. According to momental theory of thin-walled shell, the analytical solutions of structural behavior parameters including circumferential stress, longitudinal stress and shear stress are derived for UHPCC thin-walled circular tube. Based on relevant code of construction loads (MHURD of PPC 2008), the calculating parameter expression of construction loads for UHPCC thinwalled circular tube is presented. With geometrical dimensions of typical pier, the structural behavior parameters of UHPCC tube under construction loads are calculated. The effects of geometrical parameters of UHPCC tube on structural behavior are analyzed and the design advices for UHPCC tube are proposed. This paper
shall provide a scientific reference for UHPCC permanent form design and UHPCC hybrid structure application.